The Darkest Birthday
by TsuTsuYandere
Summary: "What?" he exclaimed, and threw out his arms. He pushed the door open, and went inside. As the note said, there was no one there. Hinata's happy posture melted away. They really had forgotten hadn't they? They even remembered Kageyama's birthday and not his? Written for Hinata's birthday.


Despite it being Hinata's birthday, he still went to volleyball practice. But really, it wouldn't have been a birthday present at all to be absent, since volleyball was almost all he cared about, and all of his friends were there anyway.

As he was walking over to the clubroom to get changed he suddenly got struck with a horrible thought: maybe they had forgotten? He hadn't known them for that long anyway … Well, they did celebrate Kageyama's birthday, and while Kageyama had pretended to be grumpy all the way through it, they all knew he had enjoyed himself. He had almost not frowned at all. They'd also celebrated Tsukishima and Yamaguchi's birthdays, so the team didn't forget just because they were first years and hadn't been there for long.

Ah, it was probably nothing to worry about. They had remembered all the other's birthdays, and Hinata had also mentioned it a few weeks ago. Maybe they'd even brought cake to the gym …

He pushed open the clubroom door with a bright smile. "Hey gu-!" he started, but interrupted himself. The clubroom was dark and empty. He turned on the lights, and looked around, but there was definitely no one there. Weird. He wasn't late, was he?

Definitely not. He had been careful to arrive in time because it was his birthday and he didn't want to miss a moment. And now the whole _team_ was absent? Unbelievable. The uneasy feeling in his gut grew slightly bigger.

He got changed, and headed for the gym. When he got there, he still hadn't met anyone of his teammates. He walked over to the door, and saw a note hanging on it. When he walked closer, the feeling expanded again.

 _Practice has been delayed one hour._

"What?" he exclaimed, and threw out his arms. He pushed the door open, and went inside. As the note said, there was no one there. Hinata's happy posture melted away. They really had forgotten hadn't they? They even remembered Kageyama's birthday and not his?

Annoyingly enough, he felt a lump forming in the back of his throat. He groaned, and shook his head. Well, it wasn't going to help by just standing here. He got himself a volleyball and started doing what he had done many times before he started high school: He threw the ball against the wall, before spiking it. It wasn't very educational but it was all he had at the moment. Not that he paid it any attention right now: All that went through his head was how incredibly disappointed he was that his teammates actually forgot his birthday. It would have been ok if they had forgotten someone else's birthday too, but they had remembered all of them. All of them, except his. And then they postponed training? That was just his luck, wasn't it?

Stupid teammates. And he thought they had gotten to know each other so well too.

An hour later, the other guys showed up. Suga raised his eyebrows upon seeing him. "Hinata? Have you been here long?" he asked. "Didn't you get the message last night?"

Hinata looked at him for a few seconds, scanning him for any sign that they were kidding with him. But he saw nothing: Only the same, sincere Suga.

A part of him wanted to lash out on him. But how could he, he was Suga after all. You can't get angry with him.

"No. But it's ok." he said, and held up the ball. "I need more practice anyway." He smiled carefully, though he didn't manage to make it as broad as he usually would.

Suga nodded, but looked a little concerned.

Daichi cleared his throat. "Right. Let's get started." he announced.

Training went as usual. Well, almost as usual. Hinata was too distracted by the fact that he apparently was so unimportant that nobody remembered his birthday, so much that it made him screw up much more than he usually did.

"Hey, dumbass Hinata!" Kageyama called, grumpy as always, but directly angry now. Hinata couldn't really blame him, but he didn't feel sorry for him either. "Get your shit together!"

Hinata didn't answer, but gave the other a slightly irritated look, which was more than his usual frantic apology. Stupid Kageyama. Stupid teammates. As he was standing in the back of the court, getting ready to serve, he watched Kageyama's head. He remembered that time he had sent the ball right at him … Honestly, the memory still sent shivers down his spine. On the other hand, he totally deserved it. Kageyama was such a jerk. It was his _birthday_ and he was acting even more jerk-ier than he usually did. Hinata wouln't mind going through that terror again if it meant that he could send that ball to his dumb teammate's head once more. But he couldn't do that.

Or could he?

Part unconsciously he served the ball, and instead of going over the net, it went right where he, surprisingly, wanted it to go.

Kageyama gave a grunt, and staggered forward. Hinata froze, and though a part of him filled with a sense of contentment, a bigger part filled of a sense of absolute dread.

As ordered, Tanaka, Noya and Tsukishima started cackling.

"Ah! Er- I- I- I'm sorry!" he stammered as Kageyama turned to give him the most menacing look he had ever given him, even more than the first time this had happened.

"Hinata…" he growled, and started walking towards him. At least he didn't smile creepily this time. It didn't make it any less scary though.

A small whimper escaped the redhead, and he backed up against the wall. Kageyama got right up in his face, still with an enraged frown decorating his eyes, like some kind volleyball-demon. "You really managed to do it again, didn't you?" he said, horribly calm.

Hinata's mind raced for an answer to that, but along the way he remembered that Kageyama had definitely deserved that. It was his birthday. And no one had remembered.

Not even dumbass Kageyama, whom Hinata stood closer than anyone.

He looked back at Kageyama, before adverting his eyes. "Whatever." he managed.

He kept his eyes fixed on the floor beside him. His teammate stood still, probably still giving him his best death stare. Kageyama took a deep breath, and Hinata braced himself for his impending doom.

And then he gave a disgruntled sigh. "Now I don't even _want_ to wish you a happy birthday, you idiot."

The shorter boy blinked. He glanced back up at Kageyama. "What?" he breathed.

The room got awfully quiet.

This time it was Kageyama's turn to look away. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no sound came out until several tries later. "H- Ha- … Happy birthday, or whatever." he finally muttered. Hinata could do nothing but stare. Was he blushing?

"Ah, couldn't you keep it a secret just a bit longer, Kageyama?" said Suga. Hinata looked over at him, and saw that he was smiling, along with the rest of them team. Except, of course, Tsukishima, who looked exceptionally bored.

Kageyama took a few steps back, and gave Suga an irritated look. "Well- It didn't exactly seem like he was having a great birthday!" he defended, before realizing how _caring_ that actually sounded.

"Kageyama …" Hinata started, before shaking his head and looking around. "What's going on?" he demanded.

"We wanted to arrange a surprise party," Noya chimed in. "But apparently Kageyama is unable to keep a secret."

"Shut up!"

Sugawara smiled cheerfully at the redhead. "But I guess there's no reason keeping it a secret now. Everything is set up in the clubroom."

Hinata's mouth formed into a sort of comical "o". Then, his whole face lit up. "No way!" he exclaimed, and looked around again. "I thought you all had forgotten! I thought you –" Then he remembered something. Slowly, he turned back to Kageyama, who was looking at him with his usual frown. Hinata gave a guilty laugh, and bit his lip. "… Sorry." he said carefully.

Kageyama didn't answer at first, but then he shrugged. "It's fine." he said.

Hm. Hinata thought he probably had to restrain himself to refrain from murdering him, because it was his birthday. That would've been cold, even for Kageyama. He gave his teammate a grateful smile even so.

And a grin for the rest of the team. "Thank you, guys!" he chirped happily.

The rest of the practice went smoothly, with Hinata being energized and happy again, just as it should be. Soon they were walking to the clubroom, laughing at talking about everything and nothing. Hinata was the first to walk through the door, and the sight that met him were beyond his expectations. Sure, there were only a banner that said "happy birthday" hanging on the wall, and cakes on a small table in the middle of a mess made up my pillows and blankets, but it was more than he had expected. And the transition from being ignored to this made it even better.

"This is awesome!" Hinata yelled upon seeing the room. He flopped down on the pillows, and the others followed.

They served cakes to everyone, and it didn't take long before they'd started blabbering again. Daichi said something about how they shouldn't stay that late, but after about two hours, it still didn't seem like anyone was ready to leave. Tanaka and Noya had somehow gotten a bag of marshmallows, and was playing Chubby Bunny (it wasn't a pretty sight). Asahi was right by them, politely asking them to be careful so that none of them started choking. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi was sitting and chatting quietly by themselves. Suga and Daichi was talking excitedly about something that had happened last year, and Suga had almost doubled over laughing. They were sitting unusually close to each other, but when Hinata had pointed it out to Tanaka, he had just shrugged and said; "They do that a lot".

Hinata and Kageyama had put their bets on who they thought would win Chubby Bunny: Kageyama thought Tanaka would win, because obviously he must had a bigger mouth because he was bigger than Noya. Hinata had taken offense because you don't need to be big to achieve great things. Then Kageyama had muttered something under his breath that Hinata hadn't even understood, but he assumed it was something about his height, and so they started bickering again. But it was a light hearted bicker. The kind where you're not really angry at each other. Hinata thought it was just the way they communicated, and though it might seem weird from other people's perspective, he could admit it was kind of nice.

He stuffed his face with cake while pondering about this. At this day last year, he had been obsessed with defeating Kageyama. He had resented him, and when they had started school together, he had disliked him for a long time still. He couldn't quite remember when he had started looking at the boy as a friend rather than a rival.

He glanced over at Kageyama, and saw that he was looking back at him. "What?" Hinata asked, voice muffled, since his mouth was stuffed with cake.

Kageyama frowned. "Nothing, I just spaced out." he said. "And don't speak with food in your mouth."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call cake food. More like pastries, or – "

"Do you ever shut up?" Kageyama asked, and arched an eyebrow.

Hinata swallowed his cake, and gave the other an annoyed glance. "As a matter I fact I do! Do you ever – Ever … stop frowning?" he retorted, and crossed his arms.

This just made his frown deepen, of course, and he was about to answer, probably with some sarcastic remark, but then Tanaka ran for the door and spit out the marshmallows in his mouth. Hinata looked back at Noya, who was chewing, but looked like he was suffering. That game had lasted impressively long. Hinata had almost forgotten about it.

But he had won. He grinned at Kageyama, who groaned before getting out his wallet. Kageyama was about to hand over the money, when he suddenly stopped and narrowed his eyes at Hinata.

"… What?" the redhead asked wearily. Maybe he had gotten angry about something. Maybe not. You could never know with Kageyama, because he only had like three facial expressions: Triumphant, irritated and angry.

"You have cake on your face." he informed. "Here." Then he reached over, swiped the cake off Hinata's cheek, and proceeded to put it in his own mouth.

It took a few seconds before either of them registered what just had happened. By then, it wasn't just they who had noticed.

"Gee, get a room." came Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi snickered beside him.

Tanaka started howling with laughter. "If you wanted more cake you could've just asked!" he shrieked.

Blood rushed to Kageyama's face. Hinata was pretty sure he was in the same condition.

"Shut up!" roared Kageyama. "It was just automatic!"

Noya began presenting "Can you feel the love tonight", and Kageyama looked like he was ready to fight.

Suga stood up and asked everyone to calm down a bit, but not before Noya, Tanaka and Tsukishima had gotten one of Kageyama's death stares each.

The party continued as before, though there was an awkward tension between Hinata and Kageyama, even after Hinata tried to laugh it off. As stupid as the whole thing might've been, Hinata was definitely sure that his heart had skipped a beat at the touch. He probably thought that Kageyama had been going to slap him or something. Yeah, that must be it.

About two hours later, they decided it was time to leave. It had already gotten very dark outside, and they doubted they were even allowed to stay there that long. Right before he left, Daichi decided that Noya and Kageyama should have cleaning duty, but Hinata felt bad, since it was his party, so he told Noya that he could take his place. He could've chosen Kageyama, but that would've meant that he had to be nice to him, and he couldn't let that happen, obviously.

It's amazing how big of a mess someone can make even when there isn't that much stuff to make a mess from. The pillows that had been so neatly arranged earlier were thrown around everywhere. The banner had fallen down at some point, and nobody had bother to pick it up. There were used napkins and marshmallows and other garbage everywhere, especially around where Noya and Tanaka had sat.

Hinata was picking up the marshmallows when he noticed how quiet it had become, after everyone left. He sighed joyfully. "Today was really fun," he said, to fill the silence. "Don't you think?"

"Uh, yeah." Kageyama answered. "Surprisingly, yes."

Hinata hesitated for a moment. "You know, finding out about the surprise party here would've been cool too, but honestly, before I knew what you guys were planning, I was feeling pretty shitty. It was better to just get over that as quick as possible, so … Thank you, I guess." he said, and scratched his head. "Even though you had a dumb way of saying happy birthday." he added.

"Huh?" the other growled. "You served a ball at my head. Again."

"I was mad! Even after I remembered _your_ birthday, you didn't remember mine! No one did!"

"It was only pretend."

" _I_ didn't know that!"

Kageyama snorted, in a way that could almost resemble a laughter. "Well, you should've seen your face, because you looked as terrified as last time." he said. "Did you even do it on purpose?"

"Of course I did!" Hinata barked, taking a step towards Kageyama which he hoped looked at least mildly threatening. "And you deserved it! You deserved it the first time too!"

Kageyama turned towards him. "And why is that?" he asked.

"Because you were acting like a jerk!"

"I was only acting like a jerk because you were acting like a dumbass!"

"Do you even know any more insults that 'dumbass'?"

"I don't need others, because it describes you so well."

"Shut up! Do you want to fight?"

"Do _you_?"

At this point they were up in each other's faces again. Hinata sometimes wondered why it always ended up like this. Their little staring contest lasted for about seven seconds. In those seven seconds he had time to note himself a few things: Kageyama's eyes were dark, but they were still startlingly blue. Kind of like the sky just when the first stars appear. He also noticed that his jaw looks sharper when he frowns – Er, well … At least when you're standing this close, you can see it more clearly. The last thing wasn't that much about his physical attributes, but more about what kind of person Hinata saw Kageyama as now, compared to before. He was easily a great teammate, and an amazing one compared to how he was at the beginning of the school year. He was a friend, Hinata thought, though their relationship was a little weird, but still, Kageyama might as well be the closest to a best friend Hinata had ever had. He'd had friends before, but they got separated after middle school, and they never really communicated on the level which he could communicate with Kageyama. He didn't know if that made him unfortunate or incredibly lucky. It felt like the latter.

An awkward smile he didn't really know where had come from made an appearance on his lips, followed by a small snort. Kageyama's frown deepened, but Hinata was pretty sure he was having a hard time keeping his cold demeanor up.

"What?" Kageyama demanded.

"Nothing." Hinata started picking up what was left of the trash.

It earned him a weird look from the taller, but he didn't comment it.

"I was actually thinking of arranging a birthday party with you guys." Hinata said, before gasping. "We could even have a sleepover! And we can play volleyball – Or try to, there isn't that much space. But we can at least play Mario Cart. It will be amazing!"

"If there's not much space, how do you suppose we will all fit? Especially if we're all gonna sleep over." Kageyama argued.

Hinata pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I … I guess Suga and Daichi can share a bed, because it sure didn't look like they would mind." he said, before laughing at his own joke.

Kageyama snorted, and turned away. For a second, Hinata assumed he thought his joke was stupid, but then he realized the other had actually laughed, even for just a second. He blinked at him, before grinning happily.

They continued to clean up. This time it was Kageyama who broke the silence.

"What do you wish for, then?"

Hinata looked up from where he was stuffing away the pillows into a bag. "For my birthday?" he asked, just a little shocked that Kageyama actually cared about that.

"What else, dumbass?" he replied gruffly.

Hinata sat back and looked up at the ceiling. "Hm…," he mused. There wasn't really anything he needed, or anything he particularly wanted. In fact, all he really wished for wasn't something you could buy in a store and wrap in a present. He shrugged and smiled at Kageyama. "I wish you will toss to me forever," he said, before returning his attention to the pillows. He didn't notice the surprised look on Kageyama's face, nor the roses that suddenly decorated his cheeks.

He gave a loud snort. "Whatever," he mumbled.

They finished up, and Hinata decided he should take out the trash, but when he opened the door and saw how dark it had become, the idea didn't seem so great anymore. The waste containers were almost at the other side of the school. Who knew what kind of things he could meet on the way there. He was pretty sure if he saw a ghostly child it wouldn't be Noya with his hair down this time.

Grudgingly, he turned to the other boy. "Hey, Kageyma …"

Kageyama, who had been packing his stuff, looked up, and arched an eyebrow. "Are you really that afraid of the dark?" he asked, not impressed.

The redhead sent him an annoyed, yet pleading look.

Kageyama sighed. "Fine."

Hinata gave him a puzzled glance. That went easier than he expected. It was probably because it was his birthday.

They went outside, and Hinata quickly figured it was less scary when Kageyama was with him. He was scarier than the monster in the dark anyway. But even so, the shadows around them was scary enough to make the redhead walk closer to the other than he normally would.

"Tch. I didn't know you were such a scaredy-cat." Kageyama noted.

"Shut up! It's not weird – Anything could be out here!" Hinata protested.

Kageyama shrugged. "Sure," he said. "I mean, I wouldn't know. There could be some murderous guy who escaped from a mental institute lurking around. Or just a serial killer. Or, I don't know, maybe ghosts. I don't really believe in that stuff, but I can't prove that they _don't_ exist either – Hey, are you okay?"

Hinata stared at him. "G- Ghosts?" he repeated, and glanced around, pure fear in his eyes. "No … No, ghosts don't exist …"

"How would you know?" Kageyama asked omniously. He studied Hinata for a moment. "You look really scared right now." he commented.

"I'm not scared!" Hinata protested. "I'm just – cautious." To make a point, he sped up a bit to walk in front of the other.

The walked in silence for a few seconds. "Ghost do not exist. They definitely do not exist." Hinata murmured. "Right, Kageya-" He turned, just to see that Kageyama was no longer there. "…ma?"

Suddenly he felt someone's breath by his ear. "Boo."

Hinata shriked, and stumbled away wildly, before falling over and landing on his butt. Only then did he see that it was only Kageyama, who was smirking smugly. His face lit up like a torch. "Kageyama! You asshole!" he hissed.

"I'm sorry." He was obviously not sorry.

Hinata looked to where he had dropped the garbage. In the chaos, the bag had been ripped open, and trash was everywhere. "Look what you made me do!" he complained. He bent over to clean everything up, and was soon accompanied by the other. At one point they both reached for the same marshmallow, and their hands brushed together. A weird jolt went through the redhead, and he retracted his hand. He glanced at Kageyama, and saw that he was frowning, but that wasn't exactly news.

"Pick your own marshmallow, dumbass." he said, but didn't sound angry. He almost said it as if it was an inside joke between the two of them.

Hinata chuckled, as they both got to their feet. They stared walking again, and Hinata was still in the lead. As they were making their way towards the waste containers, Hinata was struck with an awful thought. Maybe there was something _in_ the containers … Maybe a zombie. Maybe the girl from _the Grudge._ His heart sped up, more and more as they got closer. Just when Hinata was about to throw the bag in, something jumped up on the container. He didn't see what it was. All he knew was that it was dark and probably about to kill him. He gave another screech, and turned to run, but was met by a wall, aka Kageyama's chest. It was surprisingly hard. Kageyama yelped, and tipped over backwards. They both fell to the grown, and then something _absolutely horrible_ happened.

Hinata fell right on top of Kageyama, and in the momentum he couldn't keep his head up. He crashed right into Kageyama's face, and their lips clashed together.

It didn't take Hinata long to scramble off him, nor for Kageyama to get to his feet. He stood looming over him. "Hinata, what in the actual –"

"It was an accident!" the shorter cried, and stumbled to his feet again. The dark shadow was momentarily forgotten; Kageyama was a much scarier. He had done the worst thing; it was worse than serving a ball into the back of his head. He had actually kissed the moron.

Kageyama took a deep breath, and Hinata cringed, but right them the monster who had unleashed hell landed between them. And it was a cat.

A cat.

Hinata stared dumbly at it, before slowly looking back at Kageyama. He looked up from the cat and back at the other, murder in his eyes. He started walking towards him.

"H- Hey, stop! If we talk about this you'll understand!"

This reminded him awfully of that stupid serve.

"K- Kageyama!"

He was getting frighteningly close now.

"It's my birthday, you can't-"

He interrupted himself with a small whimper as Kageyama raised his hand, and he clenched his eyes shut. Then he felt a soft touch to his cheek, followed by a kiss. His eyes widened, and a surprised, muffled sound escaped him. Kageyama quickly pulled back.

Hinata was for once at loss of words, his fear of the dark completely forgotten. Kageyama averted his eyes. "Just wanted to try that." he mumbled, quite obviously embarrassed.

Silence settled between them. Hinata opened and closed his mouth like a fish, trying to find some fitting words, yet all he could think to say was; "… Well?"

Kageyama looked confused. "What?"

"Well?" Hinata repeated. "You wanted to try it. What do you think?" Oh god, what was he doing. His head felt like it was going to explode. His heart was beating as though it was trying to break his ribs.

"Um …" The other frowned. "I – What do _you_ think?"

"I asked you first!"

"I asked you second!"

"Then I'll answer second!"

"Fine! It was – fine."

It became quiet again.

"… Really?" Hinata asked carefully.

Kageyama gritted his teeth. "Yeah. Now you answer."

He scratched his cheeks, and looked to his feet. He didn't feel any remorse, but that wasn't the weirdest part. The kiss had definitely been …

"It was nice," he said. "…actually."

"Oh," Kageyama breathed.

Hinata glanced up at him, and bit his lips. "Wanna try again?" he offered.

Kageyama looked back at him, and snorted softly. "Sure."

Gauchely, he leaned down, and Hinata got up on his tiptoes. Their lips met again, softly, carefully, awkwardly, yet perfectly, as if was something they should have done a long time ago.

When they pulled apart again, Hinata tilted his head thoughtfully to the side. "It was kinda weird," he said.

"What?" Kageyama asked, offended.

"- but I liked it! Promise!" he quickly added, before feeling his face heat up again. Kageyama didn't look completely unbothered either.

"How's that for a birthday present?" he asked, and Hinata laughed.

"That's really cheesy." he commented. Kageyama made to argue, but he waved his hands defensively. "It's okay! It was … probably the best one until now."

"Probably?" he repeated.

"Yes, it depends." Hinata said. "Will you toss to me forever?"

Kageyama blinked, before he smiled. _Actually_ smiled. Not the creepy … whatever it was he did last time. "Yeah." he said. "I'll try to."

The words hit him like a crow pecking at his chest. A grin spread across his face, and before he actually registered it himself, he had wrapped his arms around the other's neck. "Thank you." he whispered, completely unable to keep his happiness away from his voice.

His teammate seemed tense at first, but then he relaxed, and returned the hug. They stayed like that for several moments. Even if they definitely had not had moments like these before, it was surprisingly easy to stay like that. Sure, the shock and the awkwardness still hang in the air, but it was drowned by the overflowing affection Hinata felt in that moment. He buried his face in Kageyama's neck, and breathed in his scent. He smelled of … Well, he smelled slightly of sweat, but that only reminded him of the one thing he loved. He smelled of volleyball. And Hinata probably didn't smell any better himself.

He felt Kageyama put his hand on his head, slowly, as if he didn't know if that was okay or not. Hinata made a cooing sound, to tell him that it was in fact very okay.

"Happy birthday, Hinata." Kageyama murmured.


End file.
